The use of herbal preparations in the treatment of the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, GERD, IBS, and fibromyalgia) can be effective if we understand the world of herbology
Herbs have their medicinal effects on multiple systems and go where they are most needed in the physiology unlike their pharma counterparts who are made to have specific molecular physiologic effects However herbs are similar to the effects antibiotics have in that they support the system in correcting the disruption Antibiotics don’t eradicate the infection as much as they support the immune response to the invading organisms For example, if someone develops pneumococcal pneumonia, the immune system is not up to the challenge to clear the organism In that case the antibiotics help the immune system in clearing the pneumococcus from the lungs and in actuality do not eradicate the organisms completely
Similarly herbs due to their specific energetics help support the physiology to clear energetic imbalances that are created by unconscious choices Even though herbs are thought of as molecules by nutraceutical companies and are marketed as such, the proper use of herbs will not be done effectively until we use them as healing energetics
Understanding the Origin of the Imbalance Being Treated
Probably the most important aspect in the energetic use of herbs is understanding the imbalance that has been created Any healer whether allopathic or Ayurvedic would admit that you have to know what you’re treating before you decide on the direction of therapy In the allopathic discipline the physician through the course of testing comes up a disease label such as cancer, hypertension, autoimmune disease At times not much testing is required and at other times a lot of testing is needed
Similarly in the energy science of Ayurveda a precise understanding of the energetic imbalance is required in order so that a successful herbal protocol is prescribed It requires more than taking a pill conjured up by some nutraceutical company but rather an in depth analysis of what is going on energetically based on what is being reported by the patient
It may be surprising to you to hear this but no two cases of the IC bladder pain syndrome are alike So as we are each uniquely different from one another so we are uniquely different in the way we create our diseases
Absorption of Herbs
An important aspect of the use of herbs is their digestion, absorption, and assimilation Healthy agni is required for this to occur or they are excreted through stool or urine The unfortunate problem for most is that the agni is not healthy What’s more is that if the herbs are attempted to be digested they will be turned into ama which is undigested unprocessed food
This is a serious problem even though as a unsophisticated audience we don’t understand what deleterious effects we are physiologically creating We merrily go along our way popping nutraceuticals hoping we’ll get better when in actuality we are making ourselves sick by our actions
This specific problem can be averted by taking advantage of the agni in our skin through the use of transdermal herbal creams Also through the use of submucosal delivery of herbs we can avoid the digestive system altogether Using both types of delivery systems we can physiologically herbs into the system where they are needed for healing
Real Healing Takes Time
Healing is subtle not gross That is to say, healing using an energetic approach requires observing for subtle changes in the body’s reporting of symptoms and noticing how improvement is occurring Otherwise we miss the signs of healing and sooner rather than later we say “this isn’t working”So any healing whether allopathic or energy science requires patience and discipline when using a herbal approach otherwise we lose in the end
Another aspect to real healing is to understand that as we get better we reverse our disease process What this means is that we have apparent aggravation of symptoms as the imbalance is corrected We hate to hear this but it’s a fact As we gently release the excess energy that we have created by unconscious choices in the past the net result is gentle symptoms of release
